Rifle target



Jan. 10, 1961 c. N. BREITENFELDT RIFLE TARGET Filed July 22, 1959INVENTOR. Clarznce N. Brzii'znfzldt United States Patent RIFLE TARGETClarence N. Breitenfeldt, Rte. 2, Marathon, Wis.

Filed July 22, 1959, Ser. No. 828,902

2 Claims. (Cl. 273-1021) This invention relates to rifle targets.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a rifletarget in which the target changes each time that it is hit so that theone using the target can see when it has been hit.

It is another object of the invention to provide a rifle target thatrequires the user to aim at a different place each time and which willturn from one position to another as it is hit, the force of the bulletturning the targets from the one position to the other.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a rifle target whichwhen shifted from one position to the other by the force of the bulletwill be retained in the new position by an over center springarrangement.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a rifle target, having theabove objects in mind, which is of simple construction, has a minimumnumber of parts, easy to assemble, inexpensive to manufacture, light inweight, durable, easily and quickly installed in the ground, automaticin operation, eflicient and eflective in use.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the rifle target embodying thefeatures of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the target with illustration made as tothe manner in which the target is turned as it is hit.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a target constructed according toanother form of the invention.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a target with illustration made as tothe manner in which the rifieman fires upon the target.

Referring now particularly to Figures 1 and 2., represents a rod havinga pointed end 11 adapted to be thrust into the ground and a top handlearm 12 bent at right angles to the rod and having a depending supportingportion 13 for a swing bracket 14 that carries arms 15 and 16 angled toone another and respectively having on their outer ends target elements17 and 18. The swing bracket 14 is held upon the portion 13 againstdownward displacement by a cotter pin 19 extending through the lower endof the portion 13. This bracket 14 has a depending projection 20 towhich a tension spring 21 is connected. The other end of the tensionspring is connected at 22 with the vertical rod 10.

The rod 10 is thrust into the ground and held against turning by alaterally spaced projection 23 so that the rod cannot turn as itstargets are struck by the bullet.

The target arms 15 and 16 are angled 90 degrees apart "ice and are swungto a position by the over center tension spring 21 such that one armwill lie against the rod 10 while the other arm extends in a verticalposition swung to be seen by the marksman upon which aim is taken. Suchpositions of the respective arms 15 and 16 with the target element 18being presented is illustrated respectively at 15' and 16' in Figure 2.When the target element 18 is struck by the bullet, the arms will swingto positions such that the tension spring 21 is thrown over center so asto draw the arm 16 against the rod 10 and have the arm 15 extended andswung to a position to face the rifieman and present target element 17.The rifieman will alternately fire upon the target elements 17 and 18and each time an element is hit a new element is presented.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, there is shown a slightly differentform of the invention but which is operated on the same principle. A rod25 having a pointed end 26 that is thrust into the ground and anoutwardly bent handle 27 for pulling the rod from the ground. Anauxiliary pointed projection 28 is connected to the rod 25 through afoot plate 29 and is thrust into the ground with the pointed end 26 andbeing spaced therefrom prevents the rod 25 from being turned about itsvertical axis in the ground under the force of the bullet.

A support arm 30 extends outwardly from the rod in the oppositedirection from the handle 27 and has an upwardly extending portion 31 onwhich a hub 32 is pivoted. The hub 32 is supported upon a washer 33 heldagainst downward displacement upon the portion 31 by a cotter pin 34.Extending from the hub are target arms 35 and 36 having respectivelytarget elements 37 and 38.

An outwardly and upwardly extending member 39 is secured to the hub 32and to which a toggle spring 40 is connected. This toggle spring 40 isconnected to the rod 25 as at 41. This spring 40 serves to pull onetarget element or the other fully to an over center position when struckby a bullet with sufficient force to permit the spring 40 to effect apull upon the projection 39 in the over center direction. The targetshown in Figures 3 and 4 is applied to the ground so that the handle 27points in the direction in which the rifieman will shoot. The targetelements 37 and 38 will thus alternate from one position to the other asthey are struck.

It will be now apparent that there has been provided a target in whichone can determine readily whether or not the target has been hit as eachtime a new target presents itself and the targets change as they arehit. It will also be apparent that the rifieman must aim at differenttargets as they are turned each time they are hit.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been set forth in thedrawings and specification and although the terms that are employed arespecific they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and notfor purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined inthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A rifle target comprising a rod adapted to be supported by one endextending into the ground, a lateral arm depending from said rod, saidarm terminating with a vertical portion, a hub member rotatably mountedon said vertical portion, target arms extending laterally from said hubmember and angled approximately degrees from one another, targetelements secured to the outer to be thrust into the groundsimultaneously with said ends of said target arms, a projectionupstanding'fr'om oneend'toprevent therotation of said rod by the forcesaid hub member radially displaced from the axis of roof a bulletstriking one of the target elements.

tation of said hub member and disposed in a radial plane bisecting theplanes formed by said target arms, a tension 5 References Cit d i th filf thi patent spring secured between said projection and said rod andserving to carry the target arms alternately to an over UNITED STATESPATENTS centre position abutting the rod. 1,845,609 Knipper Feb. 16,1932 2. A rifle target according to claim 1 wherein said rod 2,372,111Norberg Mar. 20, 1945 is provided at said one end-with a foot extendinglaterally 10 to terminate with a pointed projection extending parallelFOREIGN PATENTS with respect to the mal, said pointed projection adapted703,995 Germany Mar. 20, 1941

